Why Couldn't It Have Been Me?
by nicjmartin
Summary: SakuLee, slight GaiLee, rating for character death, some OCs and possibly a tiny bit of OOCness, but not much.
1. The Death of A Beloved Mentor

Chapter One: The Death of a Beloved Mentor

"Lee-san?" Sakura said as she approached the 16-year-old Chûnin.

The boy turned around, "Oh, Sakura-san! I did not see you there! What is it?"

He was smiling as usual, glad to see the pink-haired 15-year-old of the same rank.

"Well, you do know your sensei went on a mission a few days ago, right?"

Lee pumped his fist in the air and his eyes seemed to burn with passion as he proclaimed, "Yes, of course! Gai-sensei can complete any mission without fail! It's the Springtime of Youth!"

Sakura, who'd grown used to his outbursts, simply said, "Of course... well, he's back –"

She was cut off by the boy who post with a hand on his hip and a thumbs up to the sky, "Ha, ha, ha! As I said, Gai-sensei is simply the greatest!" he threw his head back and cackled.

Sakura waited patiently as he continued his almost maniacal laugh before saying, "I wasn't finished..."

"Oh! Forgive me, Sakura-san!"

"It's perfectly fine, really, Lee-san." Sakura laughed nervously, dreading his inevitable outburst.

"No! I must punish myself by doing 5000 laps around Konoha!"

He turned to leave but Sakura grabbed his shoulder, "Your sensei is in the hospital."

Lee swung around, "What?!" he knew people only came to tell when there was bad news to be told with it, "Is he all right?!"

"Well, we're not quite sure. We do know he's pretty banged up and we think he must have a concussion, since all he's done since he got back was ask for you."

"Take me to him!" Lee nearly shouted.

Sakura nodded sadly and began walking off, Lee trailing directly behind her.

One Hour Later

Lee sat, fidgeting in his chair in the waiting room nervously. They'd been told Gai was unconscious and couldn't have visitors yet.

Sakura stayed right there with him. She knew he needed comfort, because he could only imagine what was behind those walls. And he didn't like it.

Finally, a doctor came in and Lee practically pounced on him, "How is Gai-sensei?!"

The doctor tried to get him off, and Sakura had to pull him off before the doctor said, "We're allowing him to have visitors now."

Grabbing Sakura by the arm, Lee flew down the hall and into his mentor's hospital room, immediately stopping in his tracks.

His sensei was hitched up to half a dozen machines. One for breathing, one for blood, and four others for things Lee could only guess. There was a large gash across his sensei's chest and what looked like a burn covering the majority of his face. He was bloody and bruised and seemed barely responsive at all.

Sakura turned to Lee who was trembling. His face had lost all color and he just stood there, absent-mindedly before his eyes began to water and he fell to his knees, only to throw up all over the sterile white floor.

The pink-haired kunoichi helped Lee, who was now bawling, to his feet and out into the waiting room.

"Why did it have to be him?" he sobbed, "Why him and not me?"

She held him close as he shook and cried; thinking it best not to reply and, coincidentally, the doctor came out as soon as he was done, "He's awake now. He really wants to see you."

Lee nodded silently and got up, with the help of a certain kunoichi.

"Lee..." Gai said, smiling sadly when he saw him.

Lee ran to his side, forcing back tears, "Oh, Gai-sensei, I am so sorry!"

"Sorry?" Gai asked.

"Yes! I–I should have been there!"

"Lee, that's impossible. You know that."

"I just... I just do not want you to die!"

"Well, Lee, that's something we can't avoid. I called you in here because of that–"

He was cut of by his student's practical scream-crying. Gai hugged him and whispered, "It's all right Lee." Over and over until Lee calmed down enough to stop screaming.

"I just need you to know something." Gai said and Lee grabbed his hands,

"Anything, sensei!"

"You _are _a splendid ninja. You always have been and you always will be. You're the only thing in my life that turned out right and I'm so proud of you..."

"Sensei... thank you!" Lee bit his lip to stop himself from screaming again.

His sensei smiled at him and closed his eyes for the last time.

Lee allowed his tears to flow freely now. He allowed his head to fall into his sensei's chest and he just cried.

Sakura stood there, too uncomfortable to do much except watch. She felt bad for Lee. His sensei was his only _real _friend and the only person Lee felt really relaxed talking to, about anything at all. His sensei had always been there for Lee, and he had been the closest thing to family the young man had ever known.

She decided to give him some privacy and left the room without as much as a single sound.

She knew she had to report the death, so she went to the nearest doctor and simply pointed to the room in which Lee was currently crying over his teacher's corpse.

The doctor looked at her with an obvious pity in his eyes, as if questioning, "It's really true?"

Sakura nodded to the unspoken question and headed off to Gai-han's training ground, so she could report the death to Neji and TenTen.


	2. Sent Over The Edge

Chapter Two: Sent Over the Edge

The funeral was to be held that weekend, and there was only one person Sakura had not yet invited. The very same young man who'd watched helplessly as his father-figure passed away had yet to be invited to the service.

She knocked on the door and was invited by a very sad looking boy who she barely recognized until he spoke, "Hello Sakura-san."

The bags under his eyes revealed that he hadn't slept since the death. His face was pale and he looked as if he hadn't eaten in weeks, although it had only been a matter of days. He just looked dreadful. The mourning in his eyes was unmistakable, however the rest of his face showed no emotion whatsoever.

"Um, hi... I just came to invite you to your sensei's funeral tomorrow..."

"Okay. I will be there." He began to close the door but she stopped it, "Can I come in?"

Now, Lee wasn't much for refusing any request as simple as that, so he nodded and let her in.

Sakura glanced around the room, noticing all the photos off Lee and his sensei, all the way from when he was twelve. Four years of memories were all nailed to his walls and the kunoichi could only guess how deeply it hurt him to have all these pictures everywhere.

Lee sat down on his couch and motioned her to do the same.

Sitting down, she said, "Are you feeling all right? You look a little under the weather..."

"Well, wouldn't you if you lost the one person who made you feel wanted and understood in this world?"

Sakura sighed, "I suppose I would."

Unlike Lee, she had a family and friends and all sorts of people who liked to hang out with her. She'd rarely ever felt unwanted and she wondered how Lee dealt with it all the time. She loathed feeling like that for even five minutes. She couldn't even imagine over sixteen years of that feeling.

Lee smiled and put his hand on her shoulder, "Do not worry; I will be just fine. I just used up all my money on paying for Gai-sensei's hospital bill and I did not have any left to buy food with. And my therapist says that the insomnia should go away as soon as I come to terms with his death."

The kunoichi smiled, sighing in relief before saying, "You can come over to my house for lunch."

Lee looked at her, gratefully, "Thank you, Sakura-san. Just please allow me to get ready first."

She smiled, "No problem."

The elder stood and left for his bathroom. After a few minutes, he returned, looking much better, excluding the bags under his eyes, but even they didn't look as bad now.

"Shall we?" Lee asked, smiling. Sakura nodded and smiled back at him, but she still saw the sorrow in her friend's eyes and it made her a little upset. She still felt bad for him, but that wasn't why she was doing this. She didn't want him breaking down.

Why she cared so much was a mystery to even her, but she felt she needed to be there for him.

They arrived at her house only about twenty minutes and she knew Lee was nervous, but he needed to eat and Sakura wasn't going to let him not do it.

Walking into the den of her house, having to pull Lee by his wrist, she turned into her kitchen where her mom was already making lunch.

"Hi mom!" Sakura said.

"Oh, hi sweetie! And who's this handsome boy you've got with you?"

Lee's face flushed as he said, "Oh, I am Rock Lee."

"It's nice to meet you, Lee-kun." She said, "My name's Haruno Renga."

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Renga-san."

Sakura's mom smiled, glad her daughter had chosen such a respectable young man, "Sakura, why don't you lead him to the dining room while I finish up?"

"Sure thing, mom!" Sakura replied and pulled him into the next room. Lee was surprised to see that there were six plates set.

He looked at Sakura inquiringly and she said, "Well, it would look kind of funny with only five spaces!"

Lee laughed and took the seat next to Sakura's own, "So, if you have this many plates, I am correct in assuming you have siblings?"

"Yeah, but they're total pains. My older brother's 17 and my little brother is 13. They're so annoying sometimes!"

Lee smiled slightly, "I am sure they are, but it must be great having an entire family. Mine died when I was 5, so I do not remember much of them. My older brother, Kinniku, was 8 at the time and my baby sister, Ame, was 2. And my cousins lived with us as well. The oldest one, Hikaru, was my age, and the younger one, Suika, was 3."

"Wow... I didn't know you had a family..."

"Yeah. I was over playing at my friend's house across the street when our house set on fire. They say it happened so fast, that unless they were inches from one of the exits, they had no chance at escaping. After that I got my own apartment."

"I'm so sorry!" Sakura said, looking at him with a somewhat shocked, yet pitiful look.

Lee laughed curtly, "It is all right. At least they were buried in the same graveyard that Gai-sensei will be in! I can visit them all at once!"

Sakura found no humor in this, just more sorrow. Only seconds later, her brothers and father came flying into the room, but stopped upon seeing Lee.

"Who's he?" Sakura's dad asked.

"I am Rock Lee!"

"Oh. Well, I'm Sakura's father, Hanzai."

The elder of the brothers spoke next, "And I'm Kiga."

"And I'm Zaisei!" proclaimed the youngest one.

"It is very nice to meet you all." Lee said, bowing his head in respect.

The others looked at him curiously and Lee Sakura laughed nervously, blushing slightly because she knew her entire family thought they were dating.

None they less, the male members of her family all sat around the table and Sakura's mom was out in a matter of minutes... very long, awkward, silent, minutes.

The food was great, which Lee told Sakura's mother, and after that, there was a bit more conversation. Unfortunately, the first next thing was from Sakura's dad, "So, have you had sex yet?"

Lee nearly choked on the piece of meant he was eating before saying, "W–what?! Of course not! Why would you even ask that?!"

"Well, it's a perfectly legitimate question for me to ask my daughter's boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? You think I'm her boyfriend? No way!"

"So my daughter isn't good enough for you?"

"I never said that! Trust me, I have asked her out before, but she does not want to!"

"Then why are you here?"

"Because my sensei died a few days ago and I had to pay the hospital bill, so I had no money for food!"

"Well, if you're acting like this, I doubt he even liked you anyway and would have preferred you to starve."

That sent Lee over the edge. He clenched his fist and stood up, "That is it! I am leaving!"

"Lee-san! Wait!" Sakura called after him, but he was already gone. She turned to her father, "Way to go! Now he'll never speak to me again!" she ran out of the room and upstairs to her bedroom, where she laid face-first on the bed and cried.


End file.
